The Hotel Room
by Creme Caramel
Summary: AU. One room. One bed. Two people. So many scenarios could happen from the complication of sharing a hotel room. Oneshot collection. Scenario #6: "No one who writes is sane", he told her. She believed him.
1. I Want It That Way

_A/N: Here I am, excited to present to you this brand-new story. Well, it's actually a oneshot collection centering on everyone's favorite cliché: Two people who harbor romantic feelings for each other (and won't admit it) suddenly find themselves stuck together in a hotel room with only one bed to share. So many possibilities could result from this situation. Every chapter will be a different scenario with a different couple. So, without further ado, here's the first scenario! _

-x-

Scenario nr. 1: I Want It That Way

"I thought you said you were broke," Annika said as she scanned the tall, white building standing before them with a skeptical look.

"I never said that," Aidan replied and strode toward the hotel. He stopped when he was only five feet away from the entrance as he realized she wasn't following anymore. Instead, she stood at a safe distance from the hotel and eyed him for a long moment.

"Well? Are you coming?" He asked, feeling slightly irritated at her stubborn attitude.

"I don't have any money," She replied bluntly, feet still glued to the spot.

Aidan sighed. He should have known this was going to happen. The girl had always brought him nothing but trouble ever since the moment they met.

"Fine. I'll pay," He said after a short pause. Then, seeing her dubious look, he approached her, opened a pouch and shoved it forward so that it was practically in her face.

He couldn't help but smirk in amusement when he saw her eyes widen in shock.

"Where-where did you get all of that?" She hissed quietly.

The only answer she got was the sound of him laughing as he walked away from her and toward the building. It took her a moment before she began catching up with him.

"Hey! Aidan! I asked you a question! How dare you walk off on me! Hey, wait for me!"

-x-

Annika watched as Aidan exchanged flirtatious glances with the woman behind the reception counter and felt strangely annoyed. She glared at his back, hoping the idiot would somehow magically burst into flames under her intense gaze so that she wouldn't have to put up with him any longer.

But, she noted, she had never had the chance to carefully observe him ever since they ran into each other a couple of days prior. Now that she did, she couldn't help but admit that there was a cool aura that radiated from him. It almost made her feel confident.

Annika slapped her hand over her forehead. What had gotten into her? She was actually fantasizing about Aidan! Aidan, of all people! Aidan, the man who irritated her to no end. She laughed at that thought. Aidan was, and would always be, her number one nuisance. The nuisance she was trying to get rid of as soon as she could.

"Come on, I'm getting tired," Aidan's voice interrupted her train of thought. Annika looked up to see him holding a key in his hand and drumming his feet impatiently. She slightly nodded and followed him to their room. Room 203.

"201… 202… Oh, there it is!" She exclaimed at the sight of the door with the number 203 on it, and, as if she couldn't wait any longer, snatched the key from Aidan's hands and hastily unlocked the door, all the while ignoring his amused look.

The room was nice with pink wallpaper and a carpet that covered what she assumed was a woooden door. There was a small bathroom right next to the entrance and… oh!

A double bed with colors matching that of the wallpaper. Perfect. Just what she needed after a long day. It just stood there, as if inviting her to sleep on it. And so without a second thought, Annika jumped right on it and buried her face in the soft pillow.

"Finally," She murmured.

The happy moment was cut short as Aidan cleared his throat. The blonde girl raised her head from the pillow to look at him questioningly.

"Get out of my bed, please," He said curtly.

"Your bed? Go find your b-" She complained, but suddenly froze as comprehension dawned on her. No. This must be a mistake. There was no way-

She looked to the left. A nightstand. A window. She looked to the right. Another nightstand. A pink wall with a sunflower painting on it. She scanned the rest of the room. A coffee table and a couch. No sign of a bed.

"Um…" She began, discomfort apparent in her voice. "Aidan? Where is the second bed?"

"There's no second bed." He informed her and collapsed on the bed, grinning widely at her.

What?

"It can't be," She whispered in disbelief. Then, as if realizing something, she began to yell. "It can't be! Why didn't you book a room with two separate beds?"

Aidan frowned and covered his ears with his palms. Women. They can be so troublesome at times, he thought.

"This is all they got," He explained. "The other rooms have all been booked."

Which made sense. It was spring break, the time of the year when everyone wanted to get out and go on vacation, and all the hotels were always full. They should be lucky they even got a room, she thought. But even that fact didn't help ease her discomfort at potentially having to share the bed with him.

"Then why didn't you warn me about this?"

"What difference would it make?" He shrugged. "We'd still have to stay in a room with only one bed."

Silence. He was right. Still, share the bed with him? She couldn't do that. One of them would have to sleep on the couch.

Another moment of silence. Then the sound of the rain tapping on the window. Annika decided that the person sleeping on the couch would be him.

"Fine. You sleep on the couch, then." She motioned toward the pink couch standing near the window. Immediately Aidan shook his head.

"Oh, no no no no no," He objected. "_You_ sleep on the couch."

"Aidan!" She hissed. "I'm a lady! A lady never sleeps on the couch!"

"She will when there is no bed for her to sleep in." He replied curtly, ignoring her culminating anger.

"There's this bed!" She tapped on the sole bed in the room.

"And she's mine." He finished. Then, ignoring her objections, he flung the covers off her and gestured for her to sleep on the couch.

Annika frowned and crossed her hands over her chest, an act that showed she was extremely displeased with him. Annika had always had what she wanted. Everyone had to do everything to please her. This was the first time she'd met someone who wasn't willing to do that. It annoyed her, but it also intrigued her.

"Why, Aidan?"

"Because Aidan pays for this room, and if it weren't for Aidan, Annika would be outside in the rain right now. Aidan wants this bed, because Aidan doesn't want to pay a crap load of money to sleep on a couch." He said in a mocking tone. "Now, Aidan would be very happy if Annika got out of this bed."

Annika eyed him for a long moment, then buried herself in the pillows again. "Nope."

"Annika." His voice was threatening, but Annika opted to stay stubborn.

"Make me."

"Fine."

Just as she thought he finally gave up and decided to leave the bed to her, Aidan took off his shirt and took his place next to her.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?" She screeched and recoiled in alarm.

"What does it look like? Neither of us is going to give up on this bed, so we're sharing it." He said with the most stoic expression ever. Annika felt chills running down her spine.

"No, we're not!" She tried to push him away with a pillow to no avail. He was too strong, and no matter how hard he tried, his figure wouldn't budge.

"What? I'm being very generous here, Annika. Now just sleep." He said, making it sound like an order.

"But this is… inappropriate," She panted, as if she had just run a marathon, "My parents would kill me… if they found out."

"Relax," He assured her. "I won't tell anyone, and I'll make sure word doesn't spread around about this. I wouldn't want anyone to know I was here with you, either."

Again, silence befell them. Aidan was the one to break the awkward atmosphere between them.

"But of course, the couch is always available should you change your mind."

With that, all fear and discomfort suddenly vanished. She was determined to stay in the bed. She would not give him the satisfaction of winning. Ever.

-x-

Sleeping turned out to be a lot more difficult than she had expected. She had tried every possible method she'd been thought, but was still unable to put her mind to rest. She felt uncomfortable thinking it might have something to do with sharing the bed with that annoying jerk she'd been stuck with for two days.

Defeated, Annika resorted to staring at the ceiling to kill the time. The rain outside soon came to an end, and silence befell her. Good. Maybe now she would be able to sleep.

Unfortunately enough for her, the moment the rain stopped, the sound of Aidan's snores and even breaths became more significant to her ears.

Her breathing quickened and her heart was racing. Fear, confusion, intrigue, could one person feel so many emotions at the same time? She was afraid of being in alarming proximity to him. She was confused that despite irritating her to no end, his presence caused a strange feeling in her stomach, a feeling she could not comprehend. And it intrigued her.

Slowly, Annika turned to her side, facing a slumbering Aidan. And again, she felt that strong and cool aura he radiated. She felt almost… safe, no matter how ridiculous it sounded. She closed her eyes, but quickly opened them as Aidan mumbled something under his breath and shifted closer to her. Just when his arms were about to touch her, Annika took a deep breath and kicked him as hard as she could.

Aidan rolled over and fell off the bed. As she heard a 'thud' and a grunt coming from a very sleepy Aidan, she threw his pillow down to him. Oh, scratch the cool aura.

"What was that for?" He asked as he sat up, rubbing his back.

"Come up again and I swear I won't go easy on you this time," She warned him.

Annika secretly watched with satisfaction as Aidan reluctantly dragged his pillow to the couch, and a smile crept on her face.

The battle has been won.

-x-

P/S: Since this will be a oneshot collection, I will be updating whenever an idea comes to my mind. As always, please tell me what you think! Reviews are cherished and loved. They cheer up poor Aidan, who's been kicked out of the bed, haha.


	2. All I Have To Give

_A/N: Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Here's the second chapter, this time focused on Julian and Anneliese. This is dedicated to Lyssie (Barbiegirl2435) because she's an amazing friend of mine and a hardcore shipper of this pairing. Hope you like it!_

-x-

Scenario nr. 2: All I Have To Give

"Julian, I'm so tired."

Julian turned around to see Anneliese, visibly exhausted and energy depleted, panting heavily about ten feet from where he was standing.

"I can't walk anymore," She breathed as he approached her. "I'm sorry."

Julian silently reprimanded himself. He should have known she wouldn't be able to stand it. He shouldn't have persuaded her parents to let her go hiking with him in the first place, but he couldn't stand seeing her being cooped up inside a large mansion all through night and day, not knowing anything about the outside world. And for some strange reason, he felt obliged to do something, to free her from the repetitive daily routine he knew she despised but couldn't escape, even for one day. With that in mind, he set out to ask for her parents' permission, and after a long, nerve-wracking and terrifying conversation, they finally said yes.

But alas, the trip didn't go quite as he planned.

All he wanted was to show her how beautiful the world was outside her walls. One thing he hadn't taken into consideration, however, was the fact that Anneliese's fragile and pampered body was not built for a 10-mile hike through the city.

"Julian…" Anneliese's voice drew him back to reality. Julian muttered an apology and let her rest her head on his shoulder as he looked around to find a safe haven for them to stay the night. There was no way she would be able to walk home in this state. Oh well. He'd have to call her parents and tell them they've decided to go camping for the night. Yeah. That sounds like a good excuse.

His eyes scanned their surroundings for a minute before they rested upon a tall, white building. Could it be…? He squinted his eyes. A glowing sign with a name on it confirmed his guess: It was a hotel.

"Anneliese," He called the girl's name. Anneliese's breathing had become even once again, and her eyes fluttered open slightly.

"There's a hotel in front of us, not so far away," He informed her. "Can you make it there?"

Anneliese cast a tired look at the hotel, and nodded.

And so the exhausted pair dragged themselves toward the hotel entrance, relieved they finally had a place to stay. Unfortunately, that feeling did not last long.

Julian, still holding Anneliese close to him, entered the hotel, and slowly walked over to the counter, where a red-haired receptionist was busy making calls. But her attention was soon redirected to Julian as soon as the pair reached the reception desk, and she bid the person on the other end a quick goodbye before turning to Julian and Anneliese with an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, but all the rooms have been booked," She announced, giving Anneliese a sympathizing look.

"Pardon?" Julian couldn't believe his ears. "You mean… There are no rooms left?"

"Well, this _is_ the holiday season," She said casually, as if that answer was obvious.

Julian felt disappointment slowly taking over his senses as her words hit him.

"Are you… certain, miss?" He asked, holding onto a tiny flicker of hope that the receptionist might have been wrong.

The redhead woman checked what he assumed must be the guest list on the computer, and nodded. "Yes, sir."

Julian sighed. This couldn't be happening. What was he supposed to do now?

"How far away is the nearest hotel?" He asked her, after contemplating for a good two minutes, playing out all possible solutions in his head.

"Hm… Ah, I know. It's about 2 miles from here."

2 miles? Julian glanced at Anneliese. It appeared that she couldn't take another 2 steps, let alone walk another 2 miles. The situation was getting more and more desperate by the minute.

As if noticing the frustration on his face, the receptionist offered, "You could rest here if you want, until you can go on. I'll inform you should anyone-"

"Melissa, I'm checking out." A middle-aged man interrupted before she could finish. From the way he dressed, Julian could tell he was a wealthy businessman.

"Oh? But I thought you'd be staying with us for another two days…" The receptionist, Melissa, had now completely redirected her attention to the man, as she regarded him with a surprised look.

"The meeting ended earlier than expected, so I'm going home," He replied casually.

Julian let the rest of the conversation sail right over his head, until a voice called to him.

"Sir, we have an empty room now. The maids are cleaning it up for you. Would you like to take it?"

For the second time that evening, Julian couldn't believe his ears. He turned his head to the receptionist so quickly Anneliese was afraid he would give himself whiplash, and spoke hastily, as if afraid someone else would take the room right in that moment.

"Yes, of course! Thank you," He said as he received the key from Melissa the receptionist.

-x-

When the door to room number 203 cracked open, Anneliese practically lunged at the bed. Julian, on the contrary, took his time to examine the place. A nice small room with pink wallpaper that made him wonder how the businessman could possibly feel comfortable being surrounded by them. The room looked like a nursery, in his opinion.

But then he realized the second problem.

There was only one bed.

The one Anneliese was sleeping in.

For some unknown reason, his heart began beating faster, much to his dismay. He felt warmth creep onto his cheeks, and in an attempt to suppress the tickling feeling in his stomach, he looked away.

That was when he noticed a couch, sitting right in the corner of the room, next to the window. He let out a relieved sigh and laughed at himself. _Did you really think you're going to share the bed with her, Julian? How could you even entertain such an inappropriate idea? _He thought as he dragged himself toward the couch.

But then again, he found himself staring at her sleeping figure, a pain slowly churning in his gut. She was so close. But also so far away.

-x-

Despite his exhausted state, sleep didn't come to Julian. He kept rolling around on the couch for a good two hours, until he realized it was already too late for a good night's sleep and decided to rummage through the contents of the mini fridge instead.

He was highly allergic to peanut butter and chocolate bars weren't exactly his thing, so after another 10 minutes of searching every corner in the fridge, Julian pulled out a bottle of whiskey and a glass.

Now, Julian was many things, but he wasn't an alcoholic. He had never touched whiskey before in his life, but that night, he decided to give it a try. He had insomnia and was bored out of his mind. Besides, a sip wouldn't hurt, would it?

One thing Julian never expected, however, was how addictive the drink was. Soon sips turned into glasses, and glasses turned into bottles. It was no doubt that after the second bottle, Julian was feeling a bit tipsy.

With slow, unsteady steps, Julian walked to the window right next to the bed where Anneliese was sleeping, and began to watch the streets with pure disinterest.

-x-

Anneliese couldn't believe it. Just a few hours prior, she had sworn up and down that if she had a bed to sleep in, she would instantly fall asleep and probably not wake up until noon the next day. But it didn't happen, despite her obviously exhausted state. Everytime she was about to fall asleep, the thought of being in a hotel room with Julian, her private tutor, of all people, sent chills running down her spine. She had never been close to him for such a long time, and at night, to make matters worse.

Her breath quickened as she secretly watched him drink glass after glass, and when he finally walked over to the window, she found herself openly and shamelessly staring at him. In that exact moment, something inside of her changed. Something she couldn't quite comprehend, but it was a strange feeling that was painful and pleasurable at the same time. Something…

She was so caught in her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed him turning around and looking at her. His eyes locked with hers and burned into hers with the intensity of a thousand suns.

-x-

Julian was rapidly getting bored. He was suffering a mild headache from drinking too much, and decided to take a shower. But just as he turned around, he saw Anneliese watching him with those beautiful deep blue eyes, and found his heart beating furiously once again.

Their eyes met. They had done so many times before. This time, however, they both sensed it was different. And they both knew that this was either the start of something more between them or the end of their pure and sincerely platonic friendship.

"Who do you think you are?" A voice in Julian's head reprimanded. "Look at her. Look at yourself. Do you really think this is going anywhere?"

He stiffened for a moment at how blunt that voice sounded. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that it was right. They were just too different. Anneliese had everything. He had nothing. There was no way she would give up her luxurious life to live with a penniless tutor like him, and there was no way he would be welcomed or even accepted in her family.

"Something wrong, Julian?"

He looked at her, contemplating on what to say, but she didn't give him a chance to speak.

"Come to bed," She said, tapping her index finger on the soft mattress.

He did, all the while trying not to think about the fact that the way she worded it.

And so before he knew it, he was already in bed, next to her. What had gotten into him? He was her tutor. They were supposed to keep a distance from each other. What if all of this ends badly? Suddenly shaken out of his trance, Julian tried to get away, but Anneliese held his arm steady, preventing him from doing so.

"What's wrong? You're not comfortable being here with me?" She asked.

"No, it's just-", he trailed off. What was he supposed to say? 'Anneliese, since you and I are never going to work out anyway, let us have an amazing one night stand and forget everything in the morning'?

"Julian… I know this is crazy, but I- I think I like you… more than just a friend," She said, eyes not leaving his. Then, a moment later, she burst out laughing. "I don't know why I'm saying this. I'm supposed to be the sensible, reserved lady my parents train me to be. But I guess I just need to say it once."

He stiffened slightly at her confession, but hoped she didn't notice it. _Did she just say…?_

"I mean, you make me feel alive, Julian. Before I met you, my life was all about studying and keeping my family's social status from crumbling. My life was all about pleasing other people," She elaborated. "Then you came. You taught me to live for myself and not care what other people think. You showed me that people can be happy, rich or poor, as long as they want to. You enlightened me, Julian."

He still couldn't utter a single word. All he could do was gaze at her as she explained. Probably because he couldn't believe what he was hearing. She liked him… more than just a friend.

"I wish those social barriers didn't keep us apart, though," She said sadly. "because I love you. I love you, Julian."

Those were the most beautiful words he had ever heard. Without even thinking or considering the consequences, Julian reached out to brush a strand of hair from her face and whispered, "I love you, too."

He could see her eyes lit up with joy and tears filling her eyes as he continued. "I wish I could give the world to you, Anneliese, but love is all I have to give…"

"Your love is all that I need," She told him. "I don't care if I'm rich and you're poor. I don't care if my parents don't approve of our relationship. Screw all social barriers. All I care about is that right here, right now, we're together."

Anneliese couldn't hold back anymore. Tears streamed down her cheeks as his lips finally met hers. It wasn't anything they described in books. Fireworks did not explode, earthquakes did not erupt, seas did not run dry. The world stood still as ever. But the shift in them was monumental. And they knew, this was the beginning of a love that might never be…. Or be.

-x-

P/S: Review for the sake of drunk Julian and the effects it had on his make out session with Anneliese? Pretty please? :D


	3. As Long As You Love Me

_A/N: I'm so glad this story is being so well-received. I've been quite nervous to post it, fearing no one will read it at first due to its content, but apparently you guys have proved my hypothesis wrong. So once again, thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Just a reminder: Part of this story is written from Ian's perspective, and we all know how childish he can be, so please keep that in mind while reading._

_Last but not least, many thanks to Barbiegirl2435 for letting me use 'Haywood' as Ian's last name!_

-x-

Scenario nr. 3: As Long As You Love Me

"Ian, I think we should stop and ask for directions." Alexa suggested for what seemed like the fiftieth time in the past two hours ever since they found themselves lost in a big city with street names they could hardly pronounce, let alone memorize.

Ian gritted his teeth. One thing he knew for sure- he didn't like being told what to do, and Alexa was trying his already-limited patience with her incessant requests to 'stop and ask for directions'. Seriously, what's with girls and asking directions? Don't they ever use their instincts? No. There was no way in a million years he would ask for help and make himself look like an idiot in front of complete strangers. Nope, not gonna happen. He could totally handle this.

"Ian…" Alexa drawled. "Don't be so stubborn. You don't even know where we're going. If this continues, we'll only get further away from… wherever we were supposed to meet them. Face it, we're lost."

Lost… No, it couldn't be. He looked around. Buildings. Buildings everywhere. Everything looked the same: Buildings, sidewalks, street lights. Buildings, sidewalks, street lights. It was like an endless maze and unfortunately for them both, try as he might, Ian could not recall the name of the street where they started their long journey. Holy crap, they were screwed.

Curse this gigantic city with repeating buildings and pompous street names.

And it all began as a normal shopping trip around the city proposed by Jeremy's precious girlfriend Liana, who invited him to come along for only one purpose and one purpose only: To be her pack mule. Jeremy, being the good brother he was, kindly reminded Ian he still owed him a favor the last time he saved him from Bertha's claws, and recruited him to help out. But Ian wasn't stupid. He felt Jeremy's true intentions was to set him up with Alexa, this timid little girl.

Well, curse his sad excuse for a twin brother and his girlfriend's shopping spree, because after three excruciating hours of going from one boutique to another, the pair decided to bail on them and leave Ian with fifty pounds of shopping bags and a girl who just would not stop complaining about the unfortunate situation they were in.

Perfect.

"We're not lost," He assured her. "We're just a bit… disorientated. I'm sure that street is only around the corner."

"You're in denial, Ian. Why can't we just ask somebody? There has to be someone who can help us, right?" She insisted.

"I'm not going to… make myself look… like an idiot…" Ian panted, desperately trying to drag the last five shopping bags to keep up with Alexa's pace.

"What does asking for directions have anything to do with making an idiot out of yourself?" She asked, incredulous that he would harbor such a thought. Seriously, what's with boys and asking directions? Don't they ever use their common sense? But of course, to Ian, asking for assistance was something akin to the world ending. The boy was just that weird sometimes.

"Fine, if you don't do it, I will." She bombed him with her ultimatum and strode toward the nearest person she saw: A middle-aged man reading a newspaper.

"No, no, please, don't!" Ian dropped all the bags altogether and bounced in front of her face, blocking her path everytime she tried to avoid him.

"Why not?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her feet impatiently.

"Because…" He trailed off, quickly scanning their surroundings once again. And luckily, in a sea of buildings, he saw one that could save his life. A tall, white building with a glowing sign, standing oh so proudly in the dying lights of the day. A hotel. An idea suddenly sparked in his mind.

"Because it's getting dark, and I think we should rest for the night. We can find our way home tomorrow morning," He explained his plan, all the while pointing at the hotel.

Alexa didn't look convinced. "But what about Jeremy and Liana? They'll be worried! And we'll be home before dark if you just let me ask for directions!" The brunette countered. The idea of spending the night anywhere but home didn't sound appealing to her, especially not when she could do something about it.

Ian snorted. "Jeremy and Liana? Worried? Please. Who knows, maybe this was their plan all along." And he knew it was. He trusted his instinct. Unlike _some_ people.

Seeing her disapproving look, however, he sighed. He hated resorting to this.

"Alexa, please, I'm in no mood to fight or walk another two miles trying to find a way home. Please, just for one night? Sure one night spent away from home wouldn't kill you, right? I'm exhausted. Carrying these around is wearing me out," He pointed to the bags at his feet. "And I promise we'll use the hotel phone to call them as soon as we get a room. Now, please?"

Alexa hesitated for a moment. Then she sighed and her expression softened. Sure, it was partially her fault that he was so exhausted. She wasn't much of a help during the shopping trip _or_ the journey to find a way home. The only thing she did was complain. A feeling of guilt plagued her mind, and she surrendered.

"Fine. But only for tonight," She raised her index finger to stop Ian's outburst of happiness. "And you're paying."

"Okay, okay, Your Highness." He said dismissively. Right now, all he wanted was a soft, clean mattress for him to rest his aching muscles on.

As he reached down to pick up the bags, his hands accidentally brushed against a slender arm that gently took hold of some of them, followed by a quiet voice.

"Let me help you." She said, picked up a good number of bags and walked toward the glowing sign of their new sanctuary. Little did she know, their little skin contact had left Ian dazed for a moment.

"Well, are you coming?" She asked, shaking him from his reverie. "Come on, before I change my mind." She added jokingly. Immediately Ian burst out of his daydream bubble and followed her, silently cursing himself for noticing something such trivial.

-x-

"Excuse me," Ian tapped his fingernails on the reception desk repeatedly, trying to get the attention of the woman sitting behind the counter. "We'd like a room, please."

The redhead's attention immediately switched to the pair. She eyed them from head to toe, then spoke gently. "Of course, sir. Your name, please?"

"Ian," He said. "Ian Haywood. I'd like a room for two, preferably with two separate beds."

At that, the woman stopped taking notes and looked at Ian again, this time with an apologetic look on her face.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid we're out of rooms with two separate beds." She informed them. "May I change it to a room with a double bed, then?" She glanced at Alexa, who was slightly startled at the suggestion, and gave them both a questioning look.

"Can't you just add another bed?" Ian asked her.

"Of course we can. We charge extra money for each bed added to a room. Would you like it that way, sir?" The receptionist asked, the surprised look never leaving her face.

Ian took a secretive look at his wallet and winced. He barely managed to have enough money to book this room, there was no way he could afford another bed. And he knew the reason for his shortage of money. Earlier that day, something happened…

"_Pst, Ian, can I ask you something?"_

"_What?"_

"_Can I borrow some of your money? I just saw this really nice ring and I want to get it for L-"_

"_What? No way. I'm broke here, mate!"_

"_Remember the time I paid the rent for you? It was… I don't know, last month, right? You still haven't paid me back."_

Yeah. That was how Jeremy successfully robbed one hundred dollars off him. Remind him to crown Jeremy Haywood 'Best Brother On The Planet' when he gets back. Or better, murder him.

"On second thought," Ian answered, snaking a hand around Alexa's waist, "My girlfriend and I think a room with a double bed would be lovely."

"_What?" _Alexa thought and squirmed slightly, but Ian's pinch on the shoulder reminded her to keep quiet. And so all she did was stand there and watch Ian complete the procedure with the receptionist, the smile never faltering on his face.

-x-

"Why did you tell her I was your girlfriend?" Alexa asked once the door to room 203 had shut firmly behind them.

"Why does it matter so much to you? She's just someone we happened to meet once. Does it matter that I lie to her? Besides, what if she finds out we're not actually together, but still share the same bed, and she calls… I don't know, some kind of organization of women rights here to arrest me?" Ian replied, all the while keeping a stoic face.

"You're exaggerating," She laughed. "She wouldn't do that. Nothing like that would happen."

"So you have no problem sharing this bed with me, then?" He said, pointing at the bed. Alexa's smile immediately disappeared and she blanched.

"Just kidding," He burst out laughing at her worried expression. "I'll take the couch, don't worry."

At that, Alexa was finally able to put her mind at rest. But then, guilt again plagued her mind as she thought about Ian having to carry all those bags and she didn't help even once.

"No, it's fine," She said. "You must be really tired, having to put up with me and the shopping trip you never wanted in the first place. I'll take the couch. Don't worry, I'm a tough girl. I'm not the princess in _'The Princess and The Pea'_ story. Even if I don't sleep well, one night won't kill me."

"Alexa, now _you're_ the one being stubborn."

"And you, Ian, since when have you become such a gentleman?"

Ian was startled at that. Right, since _when_ had he become so gallant? He remembered clearly how much he had wanted a soft and clean mattress to rest his back on, and now he was willing to give it up? To Alexa?

Strange thing how a simple touch could affect your thoughts, he thought with a smile.

"If we keep fighting like this, neither one of us will get a good night's sleep," He answered her. "I say we stop making such a big deal out of everything. We're tired people, we deserve a break. Let's just jump on this bed and go to sleep."

Alexa laughed again. He had a point. For the first time, she acknowledged that Ian Haywood, of all people, had a point. Why make a fuss over everything?

All worries and fears disappeared, and they got into the bed, exhausted but relieved they finally had a place to sleep.

"You know, Alexa, you're acting quit unlike yourself, too." Ian commented as he lay next to her.

"How is that?"

"I thought you were just a loud mouthed girl, but turns out, you're quite thoughtful when you offered to help me, you know. And when you offered the bed to me, too."

Alexa blushed so much she had to use the blanket to cover part of her face. Then, she suddenly found her heart beating rapidly as warmth spread through her body. Yeah... maybe being with Ian wasn't always that bad.

"Oh, before I forget," She turned to him. "You told the receptionist I was your girlfriend."

Ian sighed. "I thought we already discussed this."

"No, what I mean is… The thought of me being your girlfriend doesn't sound so outrageous to you, right? Otherwise you wouldn't have thought about it and wouldn't have pulled off such a remarkable lie." She smiled at him.

Ian hated to admit it, but he was starting to enjoy being in Alexa's company. She was pretty, kind, clever, sarcastic and at times also quite… energetic, if that's the right word to use in this context. He also hated to admit it, but whatever matchmaking scheme Jeremy and Liana had planned, they obviously had succeeded. At least for now.

"Hm… Maybe," Ian said. "Maybe I like the idea of being your boyfriend,"

"Then why don't we do what the receptionist thinks we're doing right now?" She winked mischeviously at him, and he answered by brushing his lips ever so slightly against hers.

"Agree." He mumbled. "Still, I have a feeling there's still something we needed to do…"

Next to their bed, on the nightstand, was a phone, still completely untouched.

-x-

P/S: Props if you know what Ian and Alexa forgot to do! Again, please review for the sake of Ian-and-Alexa-bonding-chapter and please don't favorite without reviewing! See you next update!


	4. Drowning

_A/N: Sorry for the delay, guys. Writer's block and pure laziness have gotten in the way of my writing, but that's no excuse, anyway. I know the previous chapters aren't related, but this chapter is a direct sequel to the last one. And it has proven to be the most difficult to write so far. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Warning: Fluff and lots of storytelling before the actual hotel scene starts. I hope you'll enjoy it, nevertheless. :)_

Scenario 4: Drowning

"Oh Jeremy, this place is so nice! I'm sure this is going to be a great weekend!" Liana gushed as she strolled around the large reception room, stopping once in a while to admire the expensive interior decorations with awe.

Jeremy managed a nervous smile as he watched his girlfriend study their luxurious surroundings. It better be, he thought. After all the trouble he had gone through over these past months to get to this day, it better be great.

Truth was, ever since he saw the blonde girl in a café a little over a year prior, Jeremy had known, had absolutely known without the slightest hint of a doubt that Liana was the only person he would be willing to spend the rest of his life with. It sounded almost ridiculous and unbelievable even to him, since Jeremy was never one to believe in destiny and 'soul mates', or that there could only be one true love for each and every person in the world, but as soon as he found himself drowned in those beautiful deep blue eyes, he realized that those silly fairytales he and Ian used to laugh at when they were little were true. That true love did exist, after all, and Liana was the one for him.

From that day on, he had been determined to get to know her. At first it didn't seem like a very difficult task, seeing as Jeremy had always had a way with women. But Liana wasn't just any woman. Surprisingly enough, none of the tricks Ian taught him had worked. Not until the day Jeremy decided to remove his suave, womanizing mask and just be his usual, awkward self around her did Liana begin to warm up to him. Two and a half months later, Jeremy was overjoyed to find that their feelings had become mutual.

The more time Jeremy spent with Liana, the more he realized that he wanted, no, needed her. He also realized that she wasn't like any woman he had met before. While Jeremy could easily have most of those women eating out of the palm of his hands with just a few sugar-coated words, Liana followed a multi-step plan and took things slowly. Very slowly. Slow to the point even Ian had grown tired of watching his brother pine for one girl like a 'lovesick puppy', in his own words. _"I don't get it. What's so special about her, anyway? Are you willing to throw away your youthful years waiting for__ her to complete her step-to-step relationship manual or whatever the heck she calls it? Jeremy, wake up, mate. There are plenty of fish in the sea."_

But Jeremy paid his brother's comment no heed. As long as she was happy, he was happy. That was why despite having been in a relationship for almost a year, they were still stuck at Step Four: Kissing.

That was also the reason why Jeremy had put a lot of expectations into their little perfect weekend together. Because it was the transition from Step Four to Step Five: Sharing a room. Yes. Finally.

"Jeremy," Liana's voice pulled him out of his reverie. "I think we should check in now. I'm tired; I'd love to rest a bit. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."

"Of course." He concurred, and began to approach the reception desk. Liana caught up with him and gently took his hand into hers. The small gesture was enough to send butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

"How did you find this hotel?" She asked casually. "I mean, it's beautiful, not so expensive, and it's not too far away from the beach. It's perfect!"

Well, he didn't exactly _find_ it. A few weeks prior, when Jeremy had been having a major headache trying to find accommodation near the beach for the two of them to stay, Ian acted uncharacteristically nice and unexpectedly offered some help and suggested this hotel to him. How did Ian know about this hotel, Jeremy had no idea. But it was a pretty good suggestion, taking the price, service quality and proximity to the beach into consideration, so in the end Jeremy decided to go with his brother's idea and book a room for two.

He just didn't tell Liana that small detail, because he was aware that the blonde wasn't very fond of Ian, and knowing this wonderful place had been suggested by him would most likely ruin her good mood.

"Um… A friend told me about this place," He said as they finally got to the reception desk.

Liana nodded, acknowledging the information. "I see."

In that exact moment, a redhead receptionist emerged from under the desk, almost giving the pair a heart attack, and smiled apologetically as she tried to smooth her curly tresses. "Sorry. Stupid paperwork, they never stay in one place. May I help you?"

"Yes, we have a reservation," Jeremy said when he had finally calmed down after the redhead's sudden emergence out of nowhere.

"Alright," She eyed him for a moment and began typing on the computer in front of her, "Name, sir?"

"Jeremy Haywood."

The receptionist's frown deepened and for a moment, she looked as if she was trying to recall something, before turning back to the computer and typing out what Jeremy assumed must be his name.

"Found it," She informed them and this time, her gaze turned to observe Liana. "Room 203, sir." She turned around, took a key from a key cabinet and handed it to Jeremy, the weird look never leaving her face. "Enjoy your stay."

"Thank you." Jeremy took the key from her and quickly led Liana away. That receptionist was outright creepy, he thought.

-x-

"There it is." Liana pointed at the one door at the end of the corridor. "203, right?"

"Yeah." Jeremy nodded, then inserted the key into the lock and twisted it counter-clockwise twice. When he heard a crack, he opened the door.

"Mm, this looks nice, don't you think?" Liana asked as she stepped into the room. "A little bit too pink, but it's nice."

Jeremy peeked into the small room next to the entrance. Yeah, she was right. Even the bathroom was pink. He started to feel a bit uncomfortable. This hotel was definitely nice, but definitely weird.

And it just kept getting worse.

Because the next thing he noticed was that there was only one bed. A double bed, to be exact.

What? This wasn't his reservation! He had specifically booked a room with _two_ separate beds! Oh, no. This couldn't be happening. Don't these fools know how to count? Can't they count to more than one?

Suddenly, anger flared within him. The weekend was supposed to be perfect. Well, almost perfect, since perfect was such a strong word and nothing was ever perfect. And it had been almost perfect, until now. What if Liana took this as a sign that he wanted their relationship to progress faster by sharing a bed? From day one, she had made it crystal clear that she didn't want her ideals to be questioned, and that everything she did was for their own good.

Oh God. This was more than just a silly mistake made by a bunch of innumerate hotel staff. This had the potential to ruin everything. _Everything._

Luckily Liana hadn't noticed the horrible mistake yet, as she was still busy rearranging flowers in a vase that was placed on the small coffee table. And that was when Jeremy realized his second problem.

There was a coffee table.

But no sign of a couch, an arm seat or a chair.

Which meant, unless he fixed this horrible mistake and ask the staff to add another bed, he would have no other alternative, beside sleeping on the floor (or on the coffee table itself, but that was nearly impossible), than sharing the bed with her. Which of course, was not going to happen. Not that he had a problem with that, but Liana did.

Well, so much for a great weekend.

-x-

When Melissa started work that morning, she never expected any trouble. She was expecting a normal, peaceful Friday spent daydreaming about the plans she had for the weekend. Instead, she ended up with an angry familiar-looking customer.

Well, that was unexpected.

"The room I reserved was supposed to have _two_ beds," Jeremy popped out of nowhere, nearly giving Melissa the receptionist a heart attack, and slammed his palm on the reception desk.

The redhead woman yelped in surprise and terror, dropping the receiver she was holding. "W-What?"

"You heard it," He said, exasperated. "Care to explain why on earth is one bed missing?"

Melissa quickly checked the computer with a few clicks of the mouse, but then answered him with the response he most likely did not expect to hear. "But your reservation said you wanted a room for two!"

"With two beds," He added. "I don't care how you people screwed such a simple reservation up, fix this! Please!"

"I'm terribly sorry," She said. "I-I don't know how this happened, but it's impossible, Mr. Haywood…"

"Just fix it! I didn't pay for these kinds of services!"

"I can't!" She snapped back at him. At this point, they had attracted the attention of every single person present in the reception room. Countless curious stares were on them. Realizing they were attracting unwanted attention, Melissa lowered her voice.

"Look, I'm sure we have strictly followed your reservation." She whispered, prompting Jeremy to lean closer to listen to her. "But look, please don't make a fuss over this, Mr. Haywood. I see you had no problem sharing a single-bed room with your girlfriend last week."

"What on Earth are you blabbering about?" Jeremy asked incredulously. Last week? With Liana? He was sure this was the first time he and Liana stayed in this hotel. This creepy receptionist was mistaking him for someone else, much like the way she mistook _two_ beds for _one_.

"I knew it!" She exclaimed, albeit quietly. "I knew you looked familiar! I've been trying to recall where I met you earlier today."

Okay. This was getting way too creepy. Jeremy decided it was time he left. Every minute spent near this receptionist gave him goose bumps.

"Whatever happened to your brunette girlfriend, Mr. Haywood?" Melissa continued. "Did you dump her for the blonde one?"

Jeremy ignored her and simply walked away. True, he had many flings in the past, many of which are brunettes, but ever since he met Liana a year prior, he hadn't been dating anyone else. And the incident that redhead had described happened a week ago. Impossible. That couldn't be him. That woman was outright insane. He wondered why they still let her keep her job. "Maybe that was why they couldn't even get a simple reservation right," He thought.

-x-

When he got back to their room, Liana was already examining it with great scrutiny. Upon hearing him enter, she flashed him a radiant smile.

"Jeremy," She said. "Where have you been? I was beginning to think you accidentally flushed yourself into the toilet or something."

Jeremy's face contorted into an awkward smile at her weird joke. "I… went to talk to the receptionist."

"Oh, yeah?" She carefully hung the sunflower painting back to its usual spot after taking a quick look at it, completely oblivious to Jeremy's distress. "What's so important?"

"I… You see…" He stuttered, unable to find a proper explanation. He found it strange that he was the one explaining the situation to her, he had thought Liana would be the first to confront him on the bed issue.

"What's wrong, Jeremy?" She asked and sat on the bed. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Well… You know… There's only… one bed." He finally managed to say.

Liana shot him one of her 'Why thank you for reminding me that, Captain Obvious' look. "Yes. There's only one bed. What about it?"

"You mean… You're not mad?"

"What could I possibly be mad at?" She laughed.

"That we'll have to sleep in the same bed?" He reminded her. Liana laughed even harder. Seeing that, Jeremy felt a need to explain himself. "You see, we're only at Step Four going into Step Five, but Step Five didn't mention anything about sharing a bed."

"That's what you're worried about?" She smiled and pulled him down with her. "Oh my God, Jeremy. How else should I word Step Five? 'Sleeping in the same bed'?"

"You mean…" It took a moment before comprehension dawned on him. "Ooh… Sharing the room, which includes the bed…"

Liana couldn't stop laughing. "You didn't have to be so careful, Jeremy."

"I have to." He insisted. "I love you, Liana, and I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable in a relationship. I wanted you to be happy. I-I was so scared when the hotel staff misinterpreted my reservation, because I was afraid it would make you upset… I was afraid to lose you."

"I know," She smiled at him. "And I love you too. Want to know something funny, though? 'The step-to-step relationship manual', as your brother likes to call it, was a patience test. To see if there's someone who can love me enough to wait for me, to put up with the way I 'take it slowly' with the relationship. Alexa told me that I'm too picky, that no one would be able to pass that test, not before my seventieth birthday. You proved her wrong, Jeremy."

"Wait… Does that mean I passed the test, whatever that was?" He double-checked.

Liana nodded. "Yes, you did."

"But there are at least fifty steps!" He was sure there were. Liana showed him a copy of the 'manual' once when they began dating. Words could not describe his terror at seeing that thick, heavy book. "I've only completed four!"

Liana raised a silencing finger. "I'm the creator. The creator decides when you pass and when you fail."

"Okay… But what exactly does 'passing' and 'failing' mean?" Jeremy frowned, confused at Liana's odd choice of words.

"Well… You passed, which means you're the one I'm willing to spend the rest of my life with. You're the one, Jeremy." She explained. "I hope you get it, cause I'm not repeating it again. It's embarrassing enough saying all of that."

Without saying a word, Jeremy gently kissed Liana. She remained stunned for a few moments, before returning his kiss passionately. In that moment, Jeremy realized that even though he had already decided that Liana was the one for him just by looking into her eyes the first time they met, Liana took a much more practical approach, one that took them almost a year to carry out. But in the end, it was all the same. They were meant to be together. And once again, Jeremy was reminded that perhaps, destiny and soul mates, and the fact that there was only one true love for each and every person in the world was true. Perhaps fairytales and happily ever afters do exist.

"I love you, Jeremy." Liana whispered in his ear as her hands began hiking up the hem of his shirt. "Let's begin Step Six right away, shall we?"

"Agree."

Soon his shirt landed on the floor.

-x-

Early in the morning, the phone rang, shaking them both from their slumber.

"Jer… Get the phone…" Liana yawned. Mumbling something under his breath, Jeremy didn't reach the phone until the fifth ring.

"Hello?" He said, trying to suppress a yawn.

"Mr. Haywood, sorry to disturb you so early, but there's a man. He wants to talk to you." The voice of that creepy-as-hell receptionist rang through his ears.

All traces of sleepiness disappeared from Jeremy's mind as he held the receiver closer to his ears. "What? Is he here, at the hotel?"

"No," The receptionist explained. "He's on hold. Would you like to talk to him, Mr. Haywood?"

Deep sigh. "Pass him through."

There was a click, then a beep, then silence. Just when Jeremy was about to hang up, a voice spoke that sent chills running down his spine.

"_Maaaate!"_

"Ian? What the hell?" Jeremy scolded, picking up the receiver he had dropped.

"Ian?" Liana echoed, instantly feeling uncomfortable. "What's he doing, calling us so early in the morning? And how did he know we were staying here?"

Jeremy gestured for her to stay silent.

"_Hehe, looks like you and blondie had a good time, eh?"_ Ian continued with his taunting voice.

"Shut up, you idiot. If you called simply to say that, I'm hanging up." Jeremy bombed him with his ultimatum.

"_No, no, wait,"_ Ian's voice softened. _"I was just checking on your progress with the step-to-step relationship manual. But judging from the way you sound so cheerful, I'm guessing you made a huge progress, eh mate?"_

"Why would you suddenly be so interested in-" Jeremy's eyes widened in terror as he put the pieces together.

"_I see you didn't have a problem sharing a single-bed room with your girlfriend last week."_

"_Whatever happened to your brunette girlfriend, Mr. Haywood? Did you dumb her for the blonde one?"_

"_Look, I'm sure we have strictly followed your reservation."_

"_I knew it! I knew you looked familiar!"_

"Ian," Jeremy gritted his teeth, "What have you done with my reservation?"

"_Oh, I just… changed it a bit,"_ Ian responded. _"Come on, it was meant as a retaliation for bailing on me and Alexa last week, but I think it did you good, don't you think? Which step are you on?"_

Alexa… That brunette girlfriend she was talking about!

"None of your business. Now tell me, since when are you and Alexa dating?" He teased Ian.

"Ian and Alexa are dating? I knew it wasn't a good idea to matchmake them!" Liana yelled.

"_Ah-ha! I knew it was a matchmaking scheme! You so deserved my vengeance, Jeremy Haywood!"_ It was Ian's turn to yell.

"Ian, I suggest you find a place to hide, preferably somewhere outside of this continent, because when I'm back, you're dead."

"_Love you too, mate. See ya."_ Then he hung up.

"What was that about?" Liana asked after Jeremy had put the receiver down.

"Oh, nothing really special," He replied. "Basically Ian tricked us into this whole mess to get back at us for bailing on him last week, called us to gloat about it, and news flash, he and Alexa are dating."

"That's so fast." Liana commented. "Maybe we should have adopted their approach. But still, that jerk! How dare he!"

"Well, you have to admit he _did_ help us." Jeremy countered. "Though I knew I shouldn't have borrowed those one hundred dollars…"

And then it hit him. One hundred dollars. The ring! The ring he had bought for Liana!

Jeremy hastily reached for his shirt on the floor and searched through the pocket. After a moment he drew out a tiny box and held it to Liana.

"What's this, Jeremy?" She asked, curious.

"Long story. But I bought this for you, Liana." He explained. "It's also part of the reason why we're here. I bought it with the money I robbed from Ian."

"Okay…" Liana nodded, feeling a bit uncomfortable at the revelation. But her grin soon resurfaced. "Are you… proposing to me, then?"

"Hm… Is there another word for that?" He returned her with an equally mischievous grin.

Liana burst out laughing. "You know, when I said we should adopt their approach, I was only joking."

"But I'm not," He said. "I passed the test, remember? I'm the one you're willing to spend the rest of your life with."

"Alright, you win," She sighed. "Go."

"Will you be my wife, Liana?" Jeremy asked, clutching his chest for effect.

"That's so cheesy, but yes. Yes, I will." She answered and watched as Jeremy slipped the ring onto her finger.

"Ah… It's so nice to know that I don't have to follow that stupid manual anymore," Jeremy sighed in relief.

"Who said we're done with it? Once we're married, we'll have the rest of our lives to complete it. And then, we'll pass it down to our children."

"You're so evil, Liana, you know that?"

Funny how it took him and Liana a year to go through four steps, but it only took one mischief caused by Ian and they've already completed two steps in less than eight hours. Jeremy guessed he had to thank Ian, after all, just like how Ian had to thank him for getting him and Alexa together.

"Fine. You're so on. What's Step Seven?"

The End

P/S: This has been my absolute favorite chapter. And it has nothing to do with the fact that Jeremy and Liana are my favorite couple. So please, if you like it, please take ten seconds to tell me! Reviews are loved and cherished, as always.

See you next update!


	5. If I Knew Then

_A/N: New chapter! This time the main focus is Erika and Dominick. Let's see how our beloved Hotel Room will bring these estranged love birds back together, now shall we? Warning: It's much longer than previous chapters, the setting is quite different, and its focus won't be solely on the Hotel Room. It's also a bit more angsty than the other chapters, probably even more angsty than chapter 2. Keep that in mind while you read. Other than that, enjoy!_

Scenario 5: If I Knew Then

"Erika, hurry up. We don't have all day, you know. Carp's going to get so pissed if we're late again."

Erika sighed. "Just a minute, Mary." She called out, then put the crumbled piece of paper she had been staring at into the drawer and exited the room.

Deep breath. Today was a new day. A new chance to make her life better.

Or so she hoped.

-x-

"Two cappuccinos, one for table five and the other for table eleven," Mary informed Erika as she handed the brunette a tray. Erika simply nodded in response as she received it and began to make her way toward the tables in question.

"Here you go, enjoy." She said mindlessly as she placed the cup on the table, not bothering to look at the customer. Erika never really paid attention to her customers; she just wanted to do her job well and get it over and done with.

This time, however, this customer had somehow managed to catch her attention.

"Thank you." As he said those simple two words, Erika couldn't help but gaze at him, and as their eyes met, a strange feeling surged through her body, sending her stomach twisting sharply in the wrong direction.

Those eyes.

Those calm, loving, reassuring eyes.

_His_ eyes.

The eyes she had chosen to forsake a little over three year prior. Now, they were looking at her again, and the whole world seemed to stop. In that moment, she felt like throwing away everything in her life and running back into his arms again because nothing else mattered but her love for him and his love for her.

"Dominick."

His name had slipped from her lips before she had the time to realize it.

"Excuse me, Miss, are you alright?" A voice pulled her back to reality, where she was standing in a crowded café, with a tray in her hands, in front of her concerned customer. Erika shook herself out of her reverie and gave the young man an apologetic smile.

"I'm fine, sorry."

Then she excused herself and walked away as quickly as she could, avoiding any sort of eye contact with him. When she was already far enough from him, she felt her heart constrict. She could never fully forget or run away from her past, no matter how much she had tried to convince herself otherwise. All it took was a chance encounter with someone- or something- that reminded her of _him_, and all the walls she had spent so long building up would collapse and shatter.

-x-

"Here you go, enjoy." Erika repeated as she set the second cup down on table eleven. But as she left, a hand shot out and clamped tightly around her wrist.

Shocked, she turned to the man, and with a pleading voice, tried to talk her way out of his iron grip. "Excuse me, sir, but I really need to go… I have to work…"

"Say, you're one pretty doll, aren't you?" The stranger said, ignoring Erika's words. "A beautiful flower like you shouldn't work in a place like this. Want to make some easy money?"

Erika felt chills running down her spine as the man's hand snaked behind her, a little bit too low to be reaching for her waist. This couldn't be good.

"I'm really sorry, but I should be getting back to work." She said, taking a few steps back, distancing herself from his hand. "Enjoy your coffee."

As Erika scurried away, she could hear the man mutter profanities at her. Whatever. She couldn't care less. But the painful thing was that deep down, she_ did_ care. And it was always in moments like this that she began to wonder how her life _could_ have been.

At this moment, she could be making breakfast. Her husband would come and kiss her on the cheek and then sit down and read the morning newspaper, like he always did. She could have had beautiful children, could have had lived a life in luxury-

_No, don't think like that_, she cut off her train of thoughts sharply. _You chose to run away. No regrets, remember? You have to prove to them that you're worth something. That__ you're not as useless as they thought you were. That you are more than deserving to be their daughter-in-law._

Even though at this moment, that goal seemed so far away and that promise seemed like it was made eons ago. She fought back the tears that threatened to stream down her cheeks. She had promised she would do this, and that she would always stay strong.

Shame that she had failed, right?

-x-

When Erika finally made her way back to the bar, Mary greeted her with a mischievous grin.

"So?" She nudged Erika's arm. "How was it?"

"How was _what_?", Erika asked, feeling slightly irritated. Why did Mary have to be so ridiculously annoying sometimes?

"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about," Mary let out a dramatic gasp, clutching her chest for added effect. "You look totally smitten with that you over there!" She pointed toward table five, where the young man with eyes so similar to _his_ sat.

Erika couldn't believe it. Her friend actually thought that she fancied that man? Her mind was already loudly protesting against that possibility, but Erika managed to calm down before those thoughts turned verbal.

"Oh please, Mary. We're here to work, not to flirt with random customers." She said.

"You're such a prude," Mary playfully stuck her tongue out at Erika. "It's about time you got a boyfriend, you know."

Boyfriend. Her thoughts once again returned to _him._ And again, she was reminded of how much she still loved him, because the idea of having another man in her life seemed so surreal, so impossible to accomplish. Erika shook her head.

"Yes, but first, I need to figure out a way to make ends meet, don't you think?" She made up an excuse. But it wasn't really an excuse, after all, because that had been her top priority when she left _him_, and it still was.

Mary sighed, defeated. But then she glanced at the beautiful diamond ring on Erika's finger. Her highly trained eyes told her the band was in fact, extremely valuable. An idea sparked in her mind.

"Hey, I think I've got an idea. A solution to your problem, you may call it. Why don't you sell the ring? I'm sure it costs a fortune."

Erika immediately withdrew her hand. "No!" She hissed, but her voice came out a bit angrier than she had intended.

"Oh come on now, Erika. Don't tell me you want to spend the rest of your life waiting on other people. Do you really think you could make a living out of this? Don't be so naïve. Learn to make some easy money."

Again with the easy money talk, Erika thought, anger building up inside of her. How could Mary propose such a ridiculous "solution" to her problems? She knew very well that would go against her own ideals.

"What if I want to?" Erika snapped. "What if I want to be a waitress for the rest of my life? I chose this life, Mary. It may not be perfect, but at least I know I worked to earn my money. Who are you to tell me how to live my life?"

Before Mary could say anything in her defense, Erika had already grabbed her bag and stormed out of the café.

-x-

As Erika sat alone in silence in her small apartment half an hour later, she realized her anger at Mary had been irrational. After all, Mary was only trying to help her. If she had known how important the ring was to her, she certainly wouldn't have suggested that idea.

If only she had known how important _he_ was to her. Erika's fingers closed around the silver band in her hands, and for what seemed like the thousandth time, she wondered why she was still keeping it. A part of her didn't want to sell it because she had promised herself she would stand on her own feet. If she decided to sell this ring, it would mean that she depended on his money to live. No. She had gone too far to turn around now. She would not destroy all of her efforts for the past three years just because she was a bit short on money at the moment. Never.

But another part of her knew the real reason why she kept it. Because she couldn't bring herself to get rid of it, of her memories of _him_. Because deep down, she still hoped the ring would be their connection, a sign that they weren't over and that someday, maybe, just maybe, he would find her. Someday.

Erika laughed at herself. That was beyond ridiculous. He would never waste his time trying to find her. Not after what she'd done, running away just two weeks before their wedding, leaving nothing but a note asking him not to find her. Back then, Erika never understood why she had taken her engagement ring with her, but now she knew, unconsciously, she had wanted him to find her. However, her childish hope dwindled day by day, as three years had gone by and there she was, still as alone as she had been when she had left him.

Maybe he had forgotten about her. Maybe he had moved on and found love with someone else. Erika's heart ached at the thought, but then she chastised herself: Who was she to feel jealous? She was the one who made the decision to leave him, not the other way around. It was already too late for any regrets.

But despite everything, she knew she still loved him and wanted to be with him again.

That night, for the first time in three years, she doubted her decision.

That night, she cried herself to sleep.

-x-

_Flashback- three years ago_

"Dominick, I'm so scared. What if your parents don't like me?" Erika asked nervously, twirling a strand of hair around her index finger. They were to be married in exactly one month, and the time had finally come for Erika to meet her future in-laws. Needless to say the girl was less than enthusiastic about it. Not because she had anything against Dominick's parents, but because she was afraid she wouldn't make a good first impression with them.

Dominick simply laughed and took her hand in his. "It'll be fine, don't worry. They'll love you, you'll see."

With that, he pushed the giant white door to his family's manor wide open. The size and decorations of the large room startled Erika. As someone who had spent her entire life in a small emporium, the sight of something as grandeur as this had left her speechless.

"Dominick, dear, you're home," A woman entered the room with a warm smile on her face. Then, as if realizing her son wasn't alone, she gazed at Erika, a look of curiosity and slight annoyance evident on her face. "And this is…?"

"Erika, mother." Dominick answered before Erika could utter the first syllable of her name. "Mother, this is Erika. Erika, this is my mother, Claire."

"I see," The woman, Claire, nodded in acknowledgement. "Erika. I've heard a lot about you. My son just can't stop talking about you. Please, come have a seat."

They sat on the family's large cream-colored sofa and after the maids had finished serving them tea, Claire began their conversation.

"So, Erika," Her voice startled Erika, who was momentarily too lost in admiring the view around her. "Tell me a bit about yourself."

"Well…" Erika cleared her throat. "I graduated from school last year…"

"Last year?" Claire echoed. "Then I assume you have a job now?"

"Yes, I work as a seamstress."

Claire momentarily stopped what she was doing, and looked at Erika. "Seamstress? You mean, like a tailor?"

"Yes," She answered, feeling a bit worried and uncomfortable at the woman's sudden change in attitude. "I make dresses."

"Erika dreams to be a singer someday." Dominick added. "You should hear her sing, Mother, she's absolutely wonderful."

"Yes, I suppose she is," Claire said mindlessly.

Right on that day, Erika had known things were going down for her, for in the next few days, she constantly overheard Claire and Dominick arguing, and the main subject of their arguments was always her.

"She's a tailor, Dominick! She stitches clothes!"

"I don't care, Mother! I love her!"

"Oh, so you can feed on love, then? Be realistic, my son. She can barely make ends meet. Who's to say she didn't marry you for your fortune? Be careful, Dominick."

"Mother, I told you-"

"Enough is enough, Dominick. She's useless. I suggest you reconsider your decision, young man. There are plenty of girls more worthy of you just waiting for you to pop the question."

That had been the last straw for Erika. She had known that there was no way Dominick's mother would allow them to be together, not unless she could prove her wrong. And even though Dominick had assured her they would still be wed as planned, Erika did not want to spend the rest of her life in a place where she was pitied, looked down on and labeled as a gold digger. So that night, she made her decision.

_Dear Dominick,_

_By the time you've read this, I'd already be far away. I'm sorry things had come to this, but I had no other choice. Please don't look for me-_

-x-

"Erika! Erika! Wake up!"

The voice of Mary shook Erika out of her dream. Erika groaned and glanced at the alarm clock. 3AM.

"What is it, Mary?" She asked, trying to repress a yawn.

"I'm sorry I had to wake you up at this hour, but I really need your help. My friend just arrived at the airport. You know how flights are, they always land at the most inappropriate times. I need you to come with me, Erika. Pretty please?"

Erika rubbed her temples. "The airport? Mary, that's miles away! Taking a cab there would cost your and my weekly salary combined. And how are we supposed to find a cab at this hour? Everyone's sleeping!"

Mary pulled Erika up on her feet. "Don't worry, I've just borrowed a car from a friend. We can go there by car. Now quickly, get dressed."

The moment Erika saw the car, she knew something shady was going on. The car was new, brand new, suspiciously new. There was no registration plate whatsoever. Suddenly, she felt concerned.

"Your friend must be really nice if he agreed to let you use a car this new at this time of the night." Erika commented as she got into the car. Mary grinned in response.

"I know, right? He's the best!" She got behind the wheel, fastened her seatbelt, and began to drive. Erika never knew how Mary learned to drive. They spent most of their time together, and in the few months that Erika knew her, not once had Mary mentioned anything about driving a car. That, plus the way she handled the vehicle, must mean she'd learned how to drive long before she met Erika.

"Mary, are you sure this is the right way to the airport? The airport is North, you're heading East." Erika said fifteen minutes into their journey, when Mary took a turn left into a dark alley.

"Of course. We're just stopping here to fetch some things my friend needs." Mary answered as the car came to a stop.

What happened next was what shocked Erika the most.

Mary poked her head out of the car window and said: "Dave, bring out the money."

"Money?" Erika echoed, eyes wide in terror as a dark figure emerged from the darkness with a bag thrown over his shoulders. "Mary, what's going on?"

"Relax, Erika," Mary said. "You should feel thankful we included you into this heist. We'll split the money into three when the job's done. You get the money, and you didn't even have to raise a single finger. Easy money, like I told you, babe."

"No!" Erika protested. "You can keep the money. I'm out of here." She opened the car door and stepped outside.

"You'll regret this, Erika," Mary said as the man called Dave began loading bags into the car trunk.

"No, I won-"

In that exact moment, Erika heard the police car siren approaching. All three froze for a second, before Mary hissed.

"You sneaky witch! You called the cops, didn't you? Quickly, Dave! They're coming!"

"I didn't! I-", the police car was near. She could feel it. She couldn't get caught now. Not when she didn't even want to be a part of this in the first place. This could ruin her entire life.

And so she ran in the opposite direction of the threatening sound, ignoring Mary's profanities directed at her and her shouting for Dave to hurry up. She just needed to get out of there before she got involved.

She secretly thanked her days of running errands for Mrs. Carp had strengthened her legs and increased her running speed considerably. After a while, she had escaped from the dark alley and entered the main road. The sound of the police car was much quieter than before, a consolation to her nerves, as that meant she was far enough from the police to get caught, hopefully. Just as she was processing what to do next, a silver car came to a screeching halt right before her eyes.

The door of the passenger seat opened, and a voice commanded. "Get in."

In most normal situations, Erika would tell the driver off to leave her alone, but in this critical situation, against her better judgment, she got into the car and slammed the door shut. The car immediately began moving again at super speed.

After calming herself down (and probably realizing the consequences of getting into a stranger's car), Erika glanced to her left to see the face of her savior.

The person she saw became the second surprise she received that night in about five minutes.

"Dominick?"

-x-

"Dominick!" She shouted, a mix of surprise, pure shock, happiness, anger and uncertainty lacing her voice. "What are you doing here? How- how did you find me?"

"Long story." He answered as the car took another turn. "I'll explain to you later."

He had expected her to ask more questions, but she stayed silent for a moment. Then slowly, calmly, she whispered. "You called the cops."

His silence was enough confirmation for her. She sighed.

"Mary… So that's where the car came from. The easy money she told me about earlier today."

She wasn't sure if he understood what she was blabbering about, but his continued silence suddenly made her feel more comfortable. She had thought that if/when they finally met again, she would run into his arms, cry a river and kiss him passionately like it was the end of the world. But when her wish finally came true, she realized that she didn't need all those tears or display of affection with him. She just needed him to be there, that's all.

"Hey… Erika?" Dominick broke the silence awkwardly, hesitating for a moment before speaking again. "It's nice to see you again."

Erika couldn't help but smile, the first genuine smile she had in years. "It's nice to see you too, Dominick."

-x-

"I'll take you to my house." Dominick said as he steered the car into yet another large road.

Erika was feeling quite sleepy, but at the mention of his house, any traces of sleepiness disappeared. "No! What would your parents say? Just take me to a nearby hotel, I'll be fine there."

Dominick wanted to argue, but stayed silence and instead complied with her wish. Soon, they came to a stop in front of a large hotel.

Dominick and Erika entered the reception room, where a half-asleep receptionist was stirring her coffee with a spoon. She greeted them with little enthusiasm.

"Welcome," She drawled, covering her mouth with her hand to repress a yawn. "How… can I help you?"

"We'd like a room, any kind you have right now." Dominick said, giving the receptionist his ID and some personal papers. The redhead woman didn't spare them a glance.

"Of course," She continued in a sleepy tone. "Please sign here." She pointed to a blank space in the piece of paper and went back to her coffee.

In the meanwhile, Erika discovered yet more terrifying news, this time coming from the 24/7 news channel.

"_Breaking news: The police have just arrested two bank robbers transporting money in a yellow BMW in an alley in the fourth district. One of the suspects reported that there was a third accomplice who had managed to escape. The police officers are taking the description of the third person…"_

"Dominick…" Erika turned to her estranged fiancé. He immediately understood.

"Don't worry, I'll handle this. No one can turn you in right now, the police haven't taken the description from your friend yet, and this receptionist is too sleepy to notice anything, anyway." He whispered.

Although still very much concerned for her own well-being, his words had somehow helped calm Erika down, at least for the moment. Erika took a deep breath and slowly exhaled as she watched him fill the papers, a mix of relief and guilt plaguing her mind. Dominick was still Dominick, always looking out for her, even after everything she'd done, and after all these years. Suddenly, she felt a strong urge to hug him tightly, to apologize for all the trouble and pain she'd caused him and forget she ever left him. Things would go back to normal.

"Here you go," Dominick's voice startled Erika out of her reverie, waking her up just in time to stop her hand from touching him. It hovered there in mid-air before she retracted it. How could she even entertain that idea? Things would _never_ go back to normal. She'd had her chance to live happily ever after, and she'd ruined it. It was all her fault.

-x-

Despite Dominick's encouraging words, as soon as the door to their room closed firmly behind them, Erika once again felt scared and worried.

"I'm going to be a wanted criminal," She said, ignoring his words of comfort. "For a crime I never knew existed, let alone commit!" She said as she started pacing around the room nervously.

"Erika," He said, grabbing her wrist and turning her to face him. "Look at me. Listen to me. You'll be fine. I'm here now. I'll never let anything happen to you. Trust me."

She gazed into his eyes, trying to find any trace of doubt in it, but found nothing. His eyes were just as reassuring as his voice, as his actions. As always. He hadn't changed a bit.

"Okay," Was all she managed to say. Then, as he caressed her cheek gently, Erika couldn't fight the urge to glance at his hand. No ring.

A few moments later he moved away, and the awkward silence began. Erika kept shifting on her feet, uncomfortable with the situation they were in. What exactly was their relationship at this point? They never broke up; she ran away and never contacted him again. And although a part of her had always dreamed of this day- the day he finally found her- when it actually happened, Erika found herself unprepared to face him again.

"Thank you," She said, voice barely above a whisper. When he didn't react, merely stood there facing the window, Erika assumed he hadn't heard her. She was just about to repeat her words, or clear her throat, or anything, just to get rid of the silence, when he finally acknowledged her words.

"You're welcome."

His answer encouraged Erika to start a conversation, however awkward it might be. Maybe he didn't hate her that much, after all. Heck, if he hated her, would he have taken his time to find her? That little thought gave her a small flicker of hope.

"I- How did you find me?" She asked.

Another moment of silence passed, before Dominick turned around to face her. "It was a coincidence, really. I searched every dress emporium for you. Then I thought you became a singer, so I tried searching every theater in town, and contacting every agency. I- I was about to give up that morning, when I saw you in that café, working as a waitress," He laughed. "I thought I knew you well enough to correctly guess your occupation, but it looks like I didn't. You surprised me there."

"How did you know I was still in town?" And it was true. She could have moved to another town, or another country, and he would never know where to find her.

"Erika, I might not know you well anymore, but this I know for sure; no matter where you go, you always want to stay close to home." He answered.

After that, the room once again fell silent. The silence only lasted for five minutes tops, but to Erika, it was the longest five minutes of her life. Thousands of questions roamed her mind. What had happened in the last three years? What did his parents say about her disappearance? What… was she to him, now?

"Why did you leave?" Dominick asked, finally touching the subject they had up until now avoided mentioning. But they both knew it had to be brought up, sooner or later. They had to talk, since they hadn't had that chance when Erika left without saying a word.

Erika felt a sudden rush of anger boiling inside of her. "You know why, Dominick! In fact, you know better than anyone why I left!"

Dominick stayed silent, his gaze fixed on the carpet. Erika took it as a cue to continue.

"You're… wealthy, Dominick, to put it blatantly," She said, trying to stop her tears from falling. "I'm… I'm just a seamstress. We're too different."

"So you decided to just disappear, then? Did you ever think about how I felt? I cared about you, Erika, and I still do! You're acting as if I never loved you."

I just wanted to prove to everyone that I'm not useless!" She yelled. "I don't want to spend my entire life living a life that's clearly out of my league, and being looked down on and pitied everytime I accompany you to one of your pompous parties for rich people!"

Dominick's eyes widened for a moment. He had clearly not anticipated this. He had known his mother's treatment of Erika had hurt her numerous times, but he had assumed she decided to leave because was unhappy with the way his mother viewed the people of her class. He never thought she had wanted to improve her life and prove to his mother that she was capable of something. He had never considered the prospect of her having to live a life of shame just because her income couldn't compete with his.

"I-" he began, uncertain of what he should say. "I'm sorry, Erika."

"I'm sorry, too," She replied, taking him by surprise. "I… I shouldn't have left. I guess I was just a childish girl with a big ego, trying to prove myself." She sighed. "Who was I kidding? I can't just jump out there on a whim and succeed. Those things need deliberate planning. I'm sorry, Dominick."

Dominick was confused. Apparently, in his absence, Erika had developed mood swings. One moment she was angry, yelling at him and the next moment she was apologizing. This girl standing before him, he thought he had known her so well, but it turned out he didn't know her at all. It was as if he was staring at a shell of what she once was.

"Wait, so you're not mad?" He couldn't resist the urge to ask.

"Mad at what?" She asked. "Sure, I was angry at first, but now… looking back on things, I feel stupid. I should have talked to you first. I suppose… you don't hate me, right?"

"Hate you?" He laughed out loud. "Erika, I never stopped loving you. I've spent three years waiting and searching for you, but at the same time I was afraid."

"Afraid of what?" She walked to him and without a second thought, wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Afraid that you'll reject me." He answered.

It was Erika's turn to laugh. She had been worried _he_ would reject her, not the other way around. The situation was turning out to be less serious than it should be.

"Erika," Dominick's voice startled her out of her reverie, just in time for Erika to notice his hands around her waist. "Will you… I mean, can we… um…"

"Sh…" She put her index finger on his lips, silencing him. Then she fell back onto the bed, pulling him with her.

Their lips met, and Erika could have sworn it was the happiest moment of her life. All the emotions she had been holding back for three years came rushing back, its intensity so powerful, so overwhelming. Suddenly nothing else in the world mattered to her anymore, not the fact that she had the potential of becoming a wanted thief, not the fact that she was kissing her estranged lover, the same person she had so heartlessly and ruthlessly abandoned years ago, not the fact that their potential reconciliation would not please his parents, not the fact that she still hadn't realized her dream of becoming a singer. All would be resolved in time.

As she slowly unbuttoned his shirt, she heard him whisper those beautiful words she had yearned to hear for so long.

"I love you, Erika."

Erika was already too caught up in her own happiness to reply, but she knew he knew she loved him. If it had been someone else, then she wouldn't have been so sure. But this was Dominick, the love of her life. He had the ability to understand her, even if just partially, without the need for her to speak a word. That was how Dominick was. And in this moment, she didn't have to say anything, because every touch of her hands, her lips, screamed that she loved him, too.

-x-

When Erika woke up the next morning, the spot next to her was empty. Panicked, she immediately sat up, eyes scanning the room from left to right. Had last night been a dream? No, it couldn't be. It felt too real to be a dream. But if it wasn't, then where was he? Did he find her, stirred up her long hidden feelings for him, then left her just like the way she had left him…?

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Dominick emerged from the bathroom, a puff of steam behind him as he closed the door. "You were always the first to rise back then. I see you've become lazy. You've changed, Erika." That was what he'd wanted to say from last night. She'd really changed a lot since the last time he saw her. She became more confident, bolder, and very passionate in make out sessions. He silently wondered whether or not she had taken kissing lessons in those three years they were apart.

Erika laughed, shaking the guilty feeling of accusing Dominick of leaving her just moments earlier. "You're right. I've changed. But there was one thing about me that hasn't changed, and will never change: I love you."

At that, Dominick felt a wave of relief washing over him. Yes, she wasn't exactly the same Erika he had loved and planned to marry. But change was not always bad. He could get used to this new Erika.

But deep down, he knew that as long as she loved him, she was still not that different from her past self. After all, there was really no new Erika or old Erika. It was just Erika, the love of his life.

"Come on, get dressed. We're checking out." He informed her.

"Where are we going?" She asked. "Oh, and news flash, Dominick, my dear friend Mary might just have finished giving the cops my description."

"I've already taken care of that. Now hurry up. We have to leave now if we want to get to my house in time for dinner."

"What? How exactly did you 'take care' of that?" Erika asked as she slipped a shirt over her head. "And why are we going to your house? Last time I checked, your mother hated me."

"It's a secret. But I promise if you'll be a good girl and stop being so annoying, I'll tell you." He chuckled as he watched her get dressed. "As for your second question, we're going to my house. No buts."

Erika seemed to have accepted his explanation and agreed to follow him in silence through the check-out procedure. But the moment they were in his car, she started asking again.

"Dominick, your mother did not accept me before. What makes you think she'll accept me now?"

"There we go again. Now you'll never know how I cleared your name from the police papers." Dominick quipped.

"I'm serious!"

"Alright, alright," He gave in. "I'm not going to tell you that she'll accept you. She probably won't. But it doesn't matter to me anymore, because this time, we'll face it together. Whatever her reaction will be, I will stand by you. Eventually she'll understand. She's not a bad person, Erika."

Erika thought for a while. He was right. Whatever the outcome might be for them, it didn't really matter, because they would face it together. And together, they could do anything. That was what she had failed to understand the first time. She did now.

"You're right," She said, giving him a peck on the cheek. "I trust you, then. Now drive, Dom Dom."

"Don't call me Dom Dom." Dominick complained, but Erika could hear the humor in his voice.

"Anything you say, Dom Dom." She sang.

"Just try not to bail on me this time, Erika." He said as the wheels start rolling.

"I won't, Dom Dom."

"Stop it!"

-x-

P/S: Oh my, this took me forever, haha. I wanted to make it a separate story, but Lyssie advised me to add it to The Hotel Room. So, many thanks to Lyssie for solving my problem! You're the best! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. As always, review and I'll give you Internet cookies!

See you next update!


	6. Get Another Boyfriend

_A/N: I'm back! Sorry it took so long to update, but my muse flew to Africa on holiday and decided to stay there a bit longer than I allowed her to. Anyway, as promised, this is a Corinne/Louis centered chapter (Many of you requested them, I don't think any other pairing had had this number of requests) the first part is the "aftermath", the middle part is the flashback of the events leading up to the aftermath, and the last part is a small bonus scene. Enjoy!_

-x-

Scenario 6: Get Another Boyfriend

Corinne yawned and stretched her arms lazily as the sunlight filtered in through the window curtains. She had never felt so comfortable in such a long time. It almost felt like a shame to leave the soft mattress right now, but the sun is shining so brightly, she should get up, or else she'll be late for-

Wait, where did her alarm clock go? Corinne's hand began frantically searching the surface of the small nightstand. She could have sworn she wound it up and placed it on the nightstand every night before bed. Did it fall onto the floor or-

Oh no.

Corinne sat up in the bed and looked around. This was most definitely not her room. Panic surged through her mind as the memories of last night came back washing over her like a tidal wave. Going to a stupid blind date arranged by her friends Viveca and Aramina. Getting ditched by said friends. Getting drunk to drown the awkward silence between her and her date. Getting really drunk and doing who knows what. Then somehow finding herself in an unfamiliar room, wearing- oh no. Another moment of panic followed as she studied her own clothing. Last time she checked, she was certainly _not _dressed like this.

She quickly got off the bed and grabbed her clothes, which she found hanging on the bathroom door. Then she almost screamed as she came across yet another surprise of the day.

She stumbled upon a guy who was legit sleeping on the floor, about a safe distance from the bed she had been sleeping in. Her date. What was his name? Louis? Why was he sleeping here? More importantly, _how_ did he get here? Wait, how did _she _get here? Corinne racked her mind, but couldn't remember anything. Angry, confused and a little bit scared, she slightly nudged sleeping man.

"Um… Hello? Hey, you, wake up."

The man, Louis- Corinne still wasn't very sure if she remembered his name correctly- yawned and mumbled some unintelligible noises under his breath before going back to sleep.

Corinne was losing her temper. There she was, in a room that was not her own, dressed like a pole dancer, with a man she only knew for five hours tops, whose name she couldn't remember, and he could still be sleeping?

"WAKE! UP! NOW!" She yelled, grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling him up and down like he was some kind of rag doll. Louis, startled by the noise and the violent way in which he was jerked, woke up almost immediately and pulled away from her.

Before he could ask any questions or at least reprimand her for waking him up in such an insensitive manner, however, Corinne cut him off. "What did you do?"

"What did I do? What do you mean?" He asked, genuinely puzzled.

"You know exactly what I mean. Why did you take me here? And why…" She gestured around, unable to find appropriate words to describe the situation she had just been thrust into. "All of this. Why did this happen?"

"You got drunk. I tried to ask you where your house was, but you weren't conscious enough to answer me so I brought you here." Louis, having regained his composure, said simply as he got off the floor and went over to pick up his clothes, which were scattered around the room.

"But… but…" Corinne tried to argue, to tell him off for doing that, but instead she asked "Why did you stay with me?"

"Well, I just thought it wouldn't be right to leave my drunk date alone in a hotel room like this. Especially since I kind of promised Viveca I'd pay all the expenses that might arise during our date." He answered with a playful tone in his voice.

Corinne did not find his poor attempt at a joke funny. Instead, she glared at him. As if reading her mind, Louis put up his hands in a defensive position.

"Relax, Corinne. Nothing happened. Look, I slept on the floor. I even slept super far from you to make sure you didn't do anything to me during the night while I was asleep." Louis said casually as he began dressing. Right in front of Corinne.

She eyed him for another moment before finally lowering her guard, partly because she realized he was telling the truth, partly because… well, the shameful events of the previous night had come back to her. She could recall every single thing that happened in HD. And she couldn't say she was too proud of it.

-x-

She was having a horrible week. She had spent an entire month on an article for the special issue of the paper she was working for, editing and polishing every word, wasting who knows how much paper and ink on it, and by the time she presented it to her boss, she was fairly proud of it. She expected the boss to be pleased and hopefully consider her request for a pay raise or something. She expected it to be so brilliant everyone in town will be talking about it once the issue is published.

What she didn't expect was an angry boss, a scrunched piece of what used to be her article lying in the trash can, and her work transferred to someone "more capable".

She hadn't even finished pondering what was wrong with it when her phone rang and a familiar name was on the screen. Her boyfriend of three years. Corinne was so glad to have someone to talk to who would understand what she had been going through, but no, life had to throw another unpleasant surprise at her.

"Corinne, things between us haven't been the same in the last few months. I hardly even see you anymore. I think it's best for us both to go separate ways."

That was the last straw. Not caring about an entire office staring at her or her boss' threats of firing her, Corinne grabbed her bag and quickly exited the room.

In that moment, desperation surged through her body as she reflected on her current situation. She had been working too hard with no pay, she lost her inspiration to write, and her boyfriend, from whom she (and everyone else who knew them) had been expecting a marriage proposal had just dumped her over the phone, and she probably just lost her job due to her sudden outburst.

Could life get anymore worse?

-x-

"Corinne, come on. Go shopping with us or something. I'll pick out the most beautiful dress they have in the mall for you. Let's have a girls' night out. Forget about that jerk Philippe. He doesn't deserve you, anyway." Viveca pleaded as she tried to gently remove the ice cream box from Corinne's hands.

"If this makes you feel any better, Corinne, I made a punching bag version of him for you." Renee said, holding up a punching bag with a cut-out picture of Philippe glued to the upper part. "You can kick his sorry ass as much as you like."

Corinne groaned and fell face first into her pillow. "I don't want to punch a picture of him," she said, her voice muffled. "I want to punch the _real_ him."

"Well in order to do that I thought you had to go out first," Renee reminded her. Corinne groaned again. "You can't stay inside forever, you know."

Aramina, who had been uncharacteristically silent the whole time, suddenly decided it was time to voice her own suggestion.

"Girls… We all know the best way to forget a guy, right?" She asked enthusiastically.

The other three girls looked at her questioningly. Corinne, who had been sulking in her pillow the whole time, also managed to look interested. Aramina took it as a cue to continue.

"Get a new guy!" She chirped happily.

"Huh?" Renee uttered, confused.

"Yes! Great idea, Aramina! Come on, Corinne, I know the perfect guy for you!" Viveca said as she pulled Corinne to her feet and began rummaging through the closet, a bubbly Aramina assisting her.

"Let's get Corinne another boyfriend!" She said.

After a moment of silence (the only noise being Viveca and Aramina's quiet squeals at the "cuteness" of the outfits they were going through), Renee spoke, a bit uncertainly:

"So… Is that a no to the punching bag idea then?"

-x-

Corinne couldn't believe she was getting cajoled into a blind date. According to Viveca, the guy was her brother's best friend for ages and she knew him like the back of her hand. Also according to her, his name was Louis, he loved poetry, novels and all sort of sentimental things like that. Viveca even had the nerve to claim "he'd be perfect for her", "he's much more sensitive than that jerk of a boyfriend", and so on and so forth.

Fine. She'd do this. But only so that her friends would drop the matchmaking thing. Maybe if the date didn't work out, they'd give up. Hopefully.

"Louis! We're here!" Viveca's squeals interrupted Corinne's train of thought. Slowly bringing herself back to the present, she found herself being pulled a little bit too hard toward a table in the nightclub, where she saw a young man sitting by himself.

At the sound of his name, Louis- that was his name, Corinne reminded herself again- waved at Viveca and gestured for them to come over. More merciless pulling, and they were finally at the table.

"Corinne," Viveca started enthusiastically, "this is Louis, as you probably know. Louis, this is Corinne."

"Nice to meet you, Corinne," Louis said shyly. Corinne only managed to utter a "Likewise" that she wasn't even sure he heard, considering the loud noise of the music and people chatting and dancing.

An awkward silence passed, in which both victims didn't really know what to say, especially in the presence of their matchmaker, and Viveca was too thick to catch the hint. Finally, to make the atmosphere less tense, Corinne directed a glare toward her and the girl finally got the idea and quickly left, claiming she had a date, too.

But Corinne was wrong. Even when Viveca was fully out of hearing range, their non-existent conversation was still awkward.

"Um…" Louis attempted to begin a conversation as Corinne downed a glass of liquor. "Viv told me you're a writer."

"Kind of. I'm a journalist," She said, and wondered how much information Viveca had relayed to him. "Well, maybe not anymore."

His face turned into an expression that Corinne assumed was concern. Or not. It could probably be her imagination going hyperactive.

"Really? What happened? I mean, if you don't mind me asking, that is." He said, then added as an afterthought. "I don't mean to pry."

"Oh, it's fine," She waved her hand dismissively, like it was no big deal. "My boss didn't like the article I spent an entire month writing, and I might have overreacted after that. He fired me. I haven't come back there ever since, but I'm sure he did."

"Sorry to hear that," Louis replied.

A few moment of silence passed, in which Corinne drank another two glasses, before she spoke again.

"He's probably right, though… I've lost my inspiration. Nothing I write turns out good these days, no matter how much I try. I think I'm becoming insane."

At that, Louis laughed. Not a mocking laugh, but a genuine, amused laugh. Corinne looked at him questioningly. "What's so funny about that?"

"Corinne," Louis stated after the laughing fit had passed. "No one who writes is sane."

She managed to crinkle a smile. "Yeah, you're probably right. I guess only the insane can imagine powerful stories that can still affect readers for generations to come," She mused as she emptied yet another glass. "We insane people have the wildest dreams. We dream of true love and happily ever afters. Stuff like that."

Louis continued to look at her. "Maybe… maybe you're lacking inspiration because of that."

She shot him another questioning look. Louis really was strange. He was different from the other men she met and dated in that he wasn't straightforward. He held some kind of mysterious aura around him, and he kept her guessing with every word he spoke. She liked that.

"We draw our inspiration from them. Our dreams. Our desires. Without them, the inspiration is gone."

"Are you trying to imply that I don't have a dream?" Corinne asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"No, our dreams are somewhere inside of us. Each of us has one. We just haven't found it yet, or have been misled to believe that what I dream of is so, so different."

Corinne's head was beginning to spin from all the drinking and trying to comprehend what exactly Louis meant. To be honest, she found his words to be of little sense, but curiosity couldn't stop her from pondering. What was her greatest desire? What did she want to do the most?

She had established in herself that she wanted to become a writer ever since she graduated from college. But now that she thought about it, being a writer- or journalist, whichever way they preferred- did not drive her inspiration at all. But if being a writer itself couldn't provide her the inspiration to write, then what?

True love… Philippe… But hadn't she already lost him?

"I… I don't understand." Corinne said as she felt the world before her spinning wildly. Maybe drinking too much was not a good idea…

"Corinne!" Louis called as he left his seat across from her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I don't know. This place… is making me crazy. Let's go, Louis," She stated and got up from her seat, only to collapse again.

"Maybe I should have controlled the amount of liquor you consumed," Louis said, and without a word, left the money on the table and swept her up into his arms.

_Goodness, she's heavy, _he thought as he struggled to get through the front door.

"Corinne, where's your house?" He asked, but got nothing but unintelligible mumblings in response. "I suppose I should call Viv, then."

It proved to be pointless when no one picked up the phone. Viveca was probably telling the truth when she said she had a date of her own. She was probably busy kissing her date senseless right now.

Sighing, Louis slid his phone into his pocket with one hand (with much difficulty, that is) and was just about to ask Corinne again when a male voice startled him.

"What do you think you're doing with my girlfriend?"

Louis turned around to see a man about his age, standing right before him with a deathly glare directing toward him.

_Okay. She never mentioned anything about having a boyfriend._

"Um… This is your girlfriend… I was just… taking her home. She's drunk." Louis tried to elaborate.

"She can walk home by herself," The other man said as he approached the pair and forced Corinne to stand on her own. "Come with me, Corinne."

"Philippe?" Corinne asked. She still felt dizzy, but thankfully it had gotten much better. "What are you doing here?"

"The question is what are _you_ doing here!" Philippe growled and began to pull her away from Louis.

"Sir, please release her. Now. You're hurting her." Louis intervened before he could even stop himself.

"Stay out of my business," Philippe warned him.

"Leave him alone," Corinne said, all the while still struggling to break free. "He's my date. Yes, my date, Philippe. If you didn't want me to go out with other people, you shouldn't have dumped me!"

Finally breaking away from his iron grip, Corinne added breathlessly. "Besides, he's a writer. He understands me, unlike you! All you ever did was make fun of me! I can't believe I wanted to marry you!"

Philippe laughed. "A fellow writer, eh? Then I guess you two deserve each other. You can spend the rest of your life writing stupid crap no publishing house would ever agree to publish."

Realization hit Corinne hard, and all the memories came back to her, all at once, flooding like tidal waves.

_An image of their shared apartment. Or more precisely, her apartment. Philippe was drinking, while Corinne was working on her article._

"_Corinne, baby, come here to me. We haven't snuggled in such a long time."_

"_Philippe, we just "snuggled" last night. And I have to work on this article. Boss' probably have me fired if I don't finish it by Monday."_

"_Ugh, come on," his tone changed to one of anger and annoyance. "Why do you keep writing that? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life writing stupid crap no publishing house would ever agree to publish?"_

By this time, Corinne regretted having put up with him and his abusive ways for so long. She admitted Philippe was quite a prince charming when they first met. But then he revealed his true colors, and Corinne was still so in love with the fake image of prince charming he had created that she overlooked all the times he had trashed her feelings and made fun of her dreams. She wouldn't make the same mistake again.

"Well?" Philippe asked. "Are you coming?"

He turned to grab her again, but she jerked her arm from his grip and without even thinking, delivered a punch right to his nose.

Not even stopping to observe the damage she had just done, Corinne grabbed Louis' hand and ran. Luckily for them, they found a small white building across the corner. A hotel.

Philippe's screams still echoed in her ears. Having no choice left, she pulled Louis into the hotel, hoping they lost the angry pursuer.

"Room for two, please," Corinne announced as soon as they reached the reception desk. "Make it quick, please." She added as she glanced behind them to make sure no one was lurking behind the glass entrance doors of the hotel.

-x-

"Can you please explain to me what just happened?" Louis asked as soon as the door to room 203 shut firmly behind them.

Corinne was still feeling a bit dizzy. She wasn't very willing to answer any questions, but figured she owed him an explanation.

"He's my ex-boyfriend. A possessive jerk, if you ask me. Just ignore him. Everything between us is long over."

As she sat down on the bed and massaged her temples, Louis recalled everything that happened. Then he smiled and sat down next to her.

"That was quite a punch," He said.

"Thanks," She answered, not bothering to look at him.

After a while, the dizziness finally subdued, and Corinne was able to regain her composure. She looked at Louis and smiled.

"You know, I think I know what you mean. With the inspiration and dreams thing, you know."

"You've figured out what your dream is?"

"Kind of. Not really. But I know I've been wrong. I thought my dream was to be a writer. It wasn't." She gave him another smile. "I also thought my dream was to be with… that guy, you know. But again, I was wrong. He was probably the reason I lost all of my inspiration, with his insults and talks about how horrible my writing is."

"You still haven't figured it out." Louis said, more of a statement than a question.

"That's true. But I will. In time I will." And without warning, she kissed him. And instantly felt delighted at the euphoric feeling it produced. It made her feel… alive.

She pulled him down and continued to kiss him. His kiss didn't feel like any of the other kisses she had shared with other men. He seemed clumsy, but sincere and passionate. And she knew.

Corinne was never one to believe in love at first sight, or the fact that people could have soulmates, but now she did.

Because he was the one for her. He cared for her, he understood her, he filled the hole she had, and he kept her guessing. He- Could he be the one?

And she wanted this moment to last forever.

-x-

"You kicked me out of the bed," Louis pouted.

"I don't remember doing that," Corinne confessed. "I don't remember anything. Not even punching Philippe, which was, mind you, the crowning moment of my life. Well, until now."

For a moment they stood in silence, unsure where this left them. Until Corinne broke the silence.

"Remember how you told me that insane people like us like to dream and get inspired by them?" She asked, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

"Yes. Why do you keep bringing that up?" He asked, looking exasperated.

"I think I know what my dream is," She said. "I want a love that consumes me. A love so passionate it could make me forget about everything. A love… with someone who understands me."

"Your point being?" Louis asked, an eyebrow raised.

Well, for someone who kept her guessing an entire evening and preached about inspiration and dreams all through their date, Louis seemed a bit clueless right now.

She pulled his collar down so that he was facing her and whispered into his ear, "Who knows, it might be you."

Louis looked surprised for a moment, but then regained his cool. "That's horribly impulsive to assume such a thing upon our first meeting, Corinne."

"I know." And that was the truth, she knew. She knew she was being overly naïve and impulsive by putting so much faith into a relationship that started mere six hours ago, but she also knew that by doing that, she was doing the right thing.

"Hey, I'm insane, right? I'm bound to be impulsive." And they both laughed.

Corinne felt a refreshing feeling filling her mind, a sense of hope. Yes. While she wasn't absolutely sure whether Louis was going to be her new 'inspiration' or not- he was right, that would be a horribly jumping to conclusions- one thing she was certain: This was the start of something new.

The girls were right: Maybe getting another boyfriend wasn't such a bad idea.

"So…" Louis trailed off. "Aren't you going to invite me back to bed after kicking me out so rudely last night?"

Corinne laughed and pulled him down on the bed with her. "Of course, I'm sorry." And they kissed. Again. She let the blissful feeling overwhelm her for a moment before pulling back.

"Just promise me one thing," Louis told her.

"Anything."

"Next time, pick a room that's less pink." He said, his tone serious. "I can't concentrate with all the pinkness going on in here."

She laughed again. A sincere, happy laugh. And realized she hadn't felt so happy and content in such a long time. "I'll try."

-x-

"_No one who writes is sane."_

P/S: This has officially surpassed _Last Waltz_ to become the craziest thing I've ever written. I hope it wasn't too over the top. Reviews are much appreciated! Remember guys, you asked for this couple, I gave you this couple, so at least take ten seconds to tell me what you think! Hotel Room didn't have much role in this one, but I promised you'll get to read plenty of him in the next one. *wink wink* Until next time!


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